As stated in my original post we only have a 20 hp billygoat. When we do curbside cleanup i use it, even though we spend almost 20% of our time unclogging the pickup tube. But I still have to say while you guys are pushing leaves to the curb from the backyard my guys will have leaves piled, shredded and tarped to go in the truck on weekly cleanups. One timers with mountains of leaves are different but I don't typically do that kind of work. Maybe if I had a 60 or 80hp loader I would feel differently.

Well for our bigger accounts we use the walk behind blowers... then push the pile to the street with the deck low. Works just like a leaf plow. And then load it up with the loader. We save time by not having to dump the leaves as often by triple shredding the leaves. First by the mower, the the bagger, then the loader. Bet we could finish a clean up before you guys!

Well by god! ..... Bring your crew on down, I have a bunch of yards we can test your hypothisis on. I'll even buy the gas. lol

I am not going to answer the original question exactly as you asked it since I have never used the tarp method but I will give you my experiences and opinion.

I first started out with a 3 bag exmark setup and a separate mower with mulch kit installed. I first would mulch the leaves and then go over them with the 3 bagger. By mulching the leaves 1st you would not have to empty the bags near as much which is the time killer. Then I would empty the debris on the trailer which meant I either had to go and empty the trailer or take a 2nd truck/trailer for the debris.

My present system is a dump bed with a debris loader and a hustler with a BacVac dump collection system. Now I just pick up with the BacVac and dump the leaves near the loader and then suck them up after I am through. WAY more efficient. Occasionally I will mulch the leaves before vacuuming them up if the build up is real heavy. This method has saves tremendous time and you do not need 2 trucks. One person can work alone and make good time if needed.

It sound like some of the yards you are doing on a one-time wait till they all fall deal. I have gotten away from these and pretty much will agree to do these on a spaced out schedule according to how fast the leaves are falling. The reason being when the leaves are allowed to build up too long it causes jams, broken belts and etc. Point being if I am doing a clean up for $200 and I break a $60 belt there goes profit plus down time and frustration. I might do one timers if it is a yard that does not have a lot of trees and the build up will not be excessive.

For smaller operations like mine, I have had good luck with a 880 Trac Vac and a Little Wonder wheeled blower. Sometimes if the leaves are thick and I'm have to go too slow mowing and sucking, I will blow up a big pile in back yard and pull up on the Trac Vac, unhook the intake and suck it up like a loader and dump at the street. Most all front yards, I will blow to the curb with the wheeled blower. If I can easily blow the back yard out to the curb with the blower, I will do that also.
Question for everyone - What are your opinions of the JRCO leaf plow? Am thinking of purchasing one for next year.Posted via Mobile Device

I'm just state my opinion here but I've found mulching them first then using the leaf loader worked pretty good. However though I've also found that if you don't have an 8ft dump bed or dump trailer it's not as efficient. So I just mulched them with my wright stander and threw them back into the truck, I would like to here from someone who runs a truck loader/dump trailer setup is it better ?

[QUOTE=tony b;4239423]When we do curbside cleanup i use it, even though we spend almost 20% of our time unclogging the pickup tube. QUOTE]

then there is a problem. if it is clogging where it attaches to the metal sleave at the vac then the rubber hose is pushed on too far. debris get caught there and gives you a headache. slide the rubber hose almost off and tighten the hell out of it. it wont clog much if any like that.

then, vac is the way to go. at 34 years old I couldnt image using a tarp. we dont even use push blowers anymore, i have a big 16z blower attached behind my ZTR and i cut and blow at the same time. efficiency is everything. if your not efficient mowing and blowign you cant make much money

[QUOTE=supercuts;4241744][QUOTE=tony b;4239423]When we do curbside cleanup i use it, even though we spend almost 20% of our time unclogging the pickup tube. QUOTE]

then there is a problem. if it is clogging where it attaches to the metal sleave at the vac then the rubber hose is pushed on too far. debris get caught there and gives you a headache. slide the rubber hose almost off and tighten the hell out of it. it wont clog much if any like that.

then, vac is the way to go. at 34 years old I couldnt image using a tarp. we dont even use push blowers anymore, i have a big 16z blower attached behind my ZTR and i cut and blow at the same time. efficiency is everything. if your not efficient mowing and blowign you cant make much money[/Q
I am sure everyone has different circumstances. When we do curbside pickup I meant it was for customers outside our normal customer base that we do a one time pickup for. Which typically means they have laid there a couple of weeks and are wet. The tube clogs not from fault of the machine but from wet leaves.
I also find our 20hp Billy to be what I call slow. Our city recently quit doing curbside clenup. I am used to watching a machine that is capable of picking up massive amounts of leaves in seconds (80hp). While we are standing there for what seems like forever trying to get a truck loaded even with dry leaves.
My customers are charged a flat monthly rate for lawns (mowing leaf cleanup) but shrubs, mulch etc. is extra. I have been in business for 27 years but admit to being a little new when it comes to truckloaders (2yrs). To get right to the point we had a test today. 6 guys, 3 in each yard side by side. Both fairly equal on leaves (bradford pear) A was shredded and tarped in the back while B was plowed and blown to the curb and vaced. Guess who won by a wide margin? A of course, A was at the curb slightly ahead of B and B was still being sucked up by the vac. It just seems when you push leaves at the tube with a leaf plow or even a snow shovel it just wont handle it and once again the tube is clogged. Maybe I expect too much from this machine but to me its just slow. Yes it is a physically harder job with a tarp etc but it is faster in almost every situation that I have. Maybe I should spend way more than I want to on a larger vac..... Nah I'll just probably keep doing it the bonehead way lol.

Exactly!! My leaf loader shreds the leaves so much I can fit a whole day of clean ups in my leaf box. I haven't used a tarp or rake in 15 years! I have some clean ups where the leaves are a foot deep...Loaders and blowers are the only way to go. I cant even believe this is a question.